LANSING, Mich. — For the first time ever, FOX 47 News got a tour of an apartment inside of The Porter Apartments. Our tour guide was Geraldine Rush, who moved into her apartment not even a month ago.
“I do like living here,” Rush said.
But while Rush enjoys her neighbors and the beautiful view from her apartment, like other residents at the Porter Apartments, she has had complaints. In the past, residents have complained about bed bugs, rats and criminal activity.
“A guy came into my apartment, he followed me in and then beat me and took my money,” said resident William Sorales.
But things may start getting better for residents. In 2021, Redwood Housing bought the location, and shortly after, they received a tax break from the city of Lansing.
When that tax break was finalized, Redwood quickly started making plans for renovations.
“So, we’re going to be doing a comprehensive rehabilitation at the porter,” said Redwood Housing’s Marketing and Communication Director Reed Dunn. “It will include site accessibility, some exterior facade repairs, a brand new roofing system, fixing the elevator, installing HVAC and then unit upgrades too.”
Construction for the renovations is expected to start this December, and Redwood hopes all renovations will be done by December 2023.
According to documents Redwood submitted to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the renovations will cost around $22.7 million.
“One of the things we’re really proud of at Redwood is we just want to raise the standard of living for everyone,” Dunn said.
Dunn said the renovation process will be a gradual process. The company will be working on six to eight apartments at a time, and residents in those apartments will be provided with temporary housing.
Residents say they’re looking forward to the change.
“I’ve already seen good things here,” said resident David Jaramallo.”I’ve seen a lot of clean up here, and I’ve seen managers that seem to actually care.”
